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The BBC has flouted Sir David Attenborough’s own rule never to interfere in nature, after it told worried fans of Planet Earth II that a film crew had intervened to rescue stranded baby turtles.

Viewers of the BBC nature documentary series had been left concerned for the welfare of the newly-hatched turtles, after learning that their natural instincts had been altered by man-made lights.

While they are built to find their own way safely to the sea after hatching, the programme showed how the brights lights of buildings along the beachfront were causing turtles to turn around and crawl in the wrong direction.

Four in every five hawksbill babies, according to Sir David, who narrates the show, failed to make it through their first night after becoming disoriented, falling down drains and being crushed by cars.

Every turtle that was seen or filmed by the #PlanetEarth2 crew was collected and put back into the sea.

Doug Allan, a cameraman behind some of the most famous wildlife scenes in television history, has said: "For me, at least, my job is to look and not interfere. If I feel my presence is tilting the balance of the predator or the prey, then I'm doing something wrong."

A BBC source said that in this instance, the problem was man-made and it was therefore appropriate for man to step in to assist.

Sir David’s programmes have previously come under fire for filming dying animals, with a particularly emotional outpouring after an elephant calf died of thirst.

Speaking about the scenes depicted in the documentary series Africa last year, the broadcaster admitted: “The worst thing in this series as far as I’m concerned was that poor little baby elephant dying of thirst.

The programme examined how nature and man interactCredit:
BBC

“Of course you see really tough things, but there’s nothing you can do about them.”

He said camera crews and wildlife presenters would “actually make things far worse by responding than not”, adding that it was “very important” to simply observe.

Planet Earth II, which is reaching record-breaking numbers of viewers, has already tugged on the heartstrings of fans with soaring music, emotional scenes and a barrage of social media reaction each week.

Viewers have previously become emotional over penguins, racer snakes and violent scenes of snow leopards mating

After the final episode, in which Sir David explored the impact of the man-made world on the animal kingdom, social media was flooded with emotional messages about the baby turtles and their plight.